Hazy Reality
by sparklingstar
Summary: The appearance of a dark stranger creates a chain reaction of events at the Pond... and nothing will ever be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. The stranger (never really has a specified name) belongs to me.

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 1

He watched her from a distance.

       She looked peaceful, serene. Her red hair blew lightly around her face as the breeze caressed her skin. He was envious of that wind. She relied on a large oak tree for protection from the sun, whose rays poured down upon the outside world. In her hands was a novel, which she appeared to be very into. She blocked the rest of the world out, including him, with every flip of a page.

       He wondered absently what was inside that book as he studied her movements. He was captivated by her. "Such a lovely creature," he said in his low husky voice to no one in particular. He lightly scratched his chin as his lips formed a wry smile.

       His thoughts drifted to plans he had been juggling for months on end. Soon they would unfold, he thought. Soon. After months of watching her, studying her, she would be his. He would reveal himself and she would be forced to fall head over heels for him.

       All of his dreams would come true, his fantasies would be put to reality. Everything would be perfect, he told himself. His will was immovable, he would go to any extremity for her. 

       There would be no more waiting. He deserved her and there was no one else out there who could give her what she needed. He knew that more than anyone else. His hard work was going to pay off and he couldn't wait to claim the prize. 

       No, but he had to be patient. His plans would go astray and be ruined if he wasn't. He watched as she placed one delicate hand over the cover of the book and closed it.

       She rose from her cozy spot and began to head in the direction of her home. He watched her in his silence, enveloped in darkness. "Yes, soon you will be mine." he said out loud. 

       She paused in her tracks and searched around. Her eyes scanned past the place he was hiding, and she shrugged and continued walking. A bright one, he mused.

       "Yes, Mallory, soon you and I will be together for all of eternity."

---

Was someone watching me?, Mallory thought to herself as she entered the Pond. 

       I was so sure of it, she contemplated. Her body shivered as she thought of someone's eyes upon her. Maybe she was just paranoid, she concluded. After all, Dragaunus had not attacked the team in a while, things had been strangely quiet.

       "What's the matter Mally?" Duke said from behind her. His voice shocked her, as she gasped and brought her hand to her chest as soon as she heard him. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

       She brought her hand down, ashamed for being scared. "Nothing," she said coolly. 

       Duke raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look like nothing."

       "I just thought somebody was watching me, that's all." she said nonchalantly.

       "Dragaunus?"

       "Maybe. Who knows, it doesn't matter. Nothing to worry about." She laughed to put truth in her statement.

       "Eh, okay sweetheart, if you say so. Just let somebody know if it happens again, okay?" 

       "Um, sure." Mallory said, trying to shake the uneasy feeling she was getting about the whole situation. Something just didn't feel right...

---


	2. Chapter 2

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 2

A week had passed, and Mallory had soon almost forgotten all about her feeling of being watched.

       Things at the Pond were slow, perhaps a little boring. Even Phil had ceased to make very many publicity stunts, and so there was an enormous amount of leisure time. Tanya spent most of her time locked up in her lab, "working on something" which remained undisclosed. Nosedive had attempted to sneak his way in whenever his curiosity got the best of him, but was always shooed out before he got so much as a glance.

       A loud clap of thunder was heard and Wildwing looked up from the newspaper he was reading. He neatly folded the pages into a pile and tossed it on to a table. He rose from his spot and stared out the window, watching as rain slowly plastered the glass.

       The sky had turned a dismal gray and as the storm progressed, the earth around was dampened with rain. It gave the earth a dreary touch, making an invisibly gloomy blanket hang over the visibly darker room.

       Wildwing sighed. He pressed his hand against the window's glass and traced a lone raindrop as it streaked slowly down. He rested his elbow against the cold window pane and placed his head in his palm.

       He thought about how long it had been since they had been home on Puckworld, and how different things were now. Nosedive had seemed to be adjusting better than he had since they first arrived. His face no longer curled into that look of disgust whenever the words "human" or "Earth" was mentioned.

       It was his job to look out for Nosedive, protect him. He felt it was his duty the moment they had set foot on Earth. He felt he had done his duty well, for Nosedive appeared to be very content.

       And if he was doing his job well, why was he feeling depressed? Something was missing. It wasn't the familiar scent of home, although his heart ached to be back, as each and every member of the team did. So what was wrong?

       "Damn rain," he said out loud.

---

"Wing?" Mallory's voice came muffled from the other side of the door.

       "Come in," Wildwing answered. His voice was tainted with a bit of sadness, which he tried to cover up. No need to have everyone else worrying about the leader, he thought.

      Mask or no mask, Mallory saw right through it. "What's wrong?"

      "It's... nothing, just a little homesick that's all," he said, clearly lying, but he wasn't sure of the real reason anyway, so what was the point of making things more difficult?

       "Do you want to talk about it?" she said lightly, compassion in her eyes. Wildwing looked a little surprised at her concern.

       "I--I--it's just... I don't know," he confessed.

       "Well," she said, taking a seat next to him. She smiled and placed her hand over his. "Just always know that we're in this together, okay? Each and every one of us." she gave a soft smile. "And we're always here for you. Me included."

       He gave her a weak smile at that, and his heart felt contented. He picked up her hand and rubbed it gently, but were interrupted at the moment Drake 1's alarm began blaring viscously. Mallory jumped up immediately, a look of worry crossing her features. Her and Wildwing exchanged glances as she exited the room. "Tanya?" he heard her call out loudly.

       He stared at the spot she had been for a moment, then got up and followed her out of the room.

---

One by one, the team began to gather around Drake 1, Tanya at the head.

       "Man," Nosedive complained. "You'd think old Draggy'd just leave us alone for a bit."

       "I was enjoying the peace and tranquility of his absence," Grin admitted.

       "Umm, guys, I don't think this is Dragaunus." Tanya said, pressing buttons frantically as the others looked on.

       Wildwing came up in the rear, but nobody looked up except for Nosedive. "It's about time, bro!"

       "We've got trouble..." murmured Duke, his eyes still glued to the screen.

       "Umm, guys..." Tanya finally said, after what appeared to be an eternity of searching. "We've got an intruder."

       ---


	3. Chapter 3

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 3

"Intruder?" Duke repeated.

       "How'd they get in?" Mallory asked.

       "It was quite easy, actually..." a low voice suddenly said. The entire team jumped at it, and turned around looking in all directions.

       He stepped from the shadows and stared at them. A tall, strong human looked back on them all, with black hair and green eyes that seemed to shine vigorously. They weren't beautiful, however, but frightening. Before anyone could move, he grabbed Nosedive from behind and brought a knife to his neck. The human was strong enough to restrain him.

       Wildwing pulled out a puck launcher, ready to shoot. His eyes shone with anger and fear (the latter which he tried to hide) for his brother.

       "Ah, ah, ah..." the stranger scolded. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want me to kill the kid, would you?"

       Wildwing snarled and kept his aim focused on the dark human. 

       "Put the weapon down." Wildwing reluctantly followed his order.

       The team's eyes fell on the silvery blade, glinting in the light. Nosedive looked at Wildwing with fear in his eyes. Everyone looked helplessly on.

       "Well, now that we're all acquainted," the stranger said, drawing the blade closer to Nosedive's vulnerable neck, "I believe it's time for my demands to be met." He looked upon each of the ducks, watching as they drew away from his mechanical gaze. Tanya trembled; Mallory glared at him. He smiled at her. She shivered internally.

       "Who are you? What do you want?" Wildwing asked angrily.

       "Too many questions.. hold your horses, impatience makes me angry." he said, giving an evil grin. "My name is none of your concern. Petty nonsense. What I want..." he paused. "There is one thing you have that I want. If you give it to me, I won't start trouble. However, if you refuse, I'm afraid that things might get a little... nasty."

       "Name your price." Wildwing responded. In response to this, the stranger began to advance. He dropped Nosedive in a heap to the floor, who rose to his knees and frantically pressed his hands around his throat, making sure it was still in one piece.

       He took slow steps, as everyone began to grow impatient of the games he was playing. He appeared to be advancing at Tanya, blade still in hand. She swallowed hard, and tried to look away from his menacing stare.

       However, at the last moment, he took a swift step to the right and grabbed Mallory by the wrist. She growled at him and reached down to grab a puck luncher but he gave a swift spin kick and knocked it to the floor and kicked it away. Duke reached for it, but the stranger seemed to expect this. "I wouldn't pick that up if I were you," he said. "You see, I have a bomb hidden in your beloved Pond. Too bad you don't know where it is. If you make any sudden moves or try anything brave, I could always detonate it sooner, and we wouldn't want that, now would we? Especially with that autograph signing coming up. I bet the stadium will be getting crowded. You wouldn't want to take any chances with all those people's lives at stake, now would you?"

       Duke cursed and dropped the weapon. It made a loud clanging noise as it hit the ground. He looked to Wildwing for orders, but the team leader was watching the stranger as he struggled with Mallory.

       "Feisty, aren't we?" he said, a small laugh erupting from his chest. She watched as he reached into his pocket, pulling a sedative out. He made a lunge to jam it into her arm but she gave a firm stomp to his foot and elbowed him in the stomach. The syringe fell to the floor and the intruder backed into the corner, the wind knocked out of him.

       "I told you... if you did anything..  you'd be sorry.." he said threateningly. She glared at him to try to show that she was not afraid of him. Nosedive began to inch his way toward the door, intent on finding where the bomb was. "No!" the stranger yelled. 

       He made a scramble for the knife that lay forgotten on the floor and threw it. It pegged Nosedive in the side and he fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

       "Nosedive!" Wildwing cried, panic consuming him. Everyone rushed to Nosedive's side and Wildwing took his hand. "It's really too bad I was lying about the bomb," the stranger called out. "It makes things a lot harder for you, now doesn't it?" he said as he disappeared.

       Mallory's thoughts were racing as she stared at the sticky pool of blood that began to surround Nosedive. His blood, she noted.

       "Tanya, find out if he was really bluffing about that bomb. Grin, Duke, you help me get Nosedive to the Infirmary." Wildwing ordered, his eyes on Nosedive's face, stricken with pain.

       As everyone rushed to follow Wildwing's commands, Mallory gave him a blank look. She had been left out. Before she could open her mouth, he spoke. "This is all your fault!" he barked. She visibly cringed at this, as her eyes mirrored the hurt she was feeling.

       She turned from them all then as the team stared on, silent. The next thing Mallory knew she broke into a run and left them all behind. She thought she heard Duke call out her name, but she didn't look back. In an instant, she was gone.

---


	4. Chapter 4

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 4

Tanya pushed the rim of her glasses up as she entered the Infirmary.

       "Turns out he was bluffing about the bomb, whoever he was." She walked over to where Nosedive was laying. "You guys, um, get on out of here. I'm gonna check him out," she said, cocking her head towards Dive.

       Wildwing took one last glance at his helpless brother as he exited the room with Duke and Grin.  

       "Umm, Wing.." Duke said softly. "Don't ya think you were a little hard on Mallory?"

       "Her spirit was noticeably broken as she left. It will need repair." Grin said. 

       "Uhh.. yeah.." Duke said. Wildwing turned his back on them.

       "If it wasn't her, my brother wouldn't be lying in that bad." he said angrily.

       "That's where you're wrong, Wing. She didn't do this. That guy, whoever he was, did."

       "It doesn't matter. He said not do anything. She didn't obey, and now Nosedive has to pay for it."

       "What was she supposed to do? Go submissively as he jabbed her full of somethin' and not struggle?"

       "She could have..." Wildwing started, but was cut off by Duke.

       "Could have what? Sacrificed herself?" 

       "That's not what I... I just..." Wildwing sighed suddenly. "I just wish I could have saved Nosedive." he said, as guilt overcame him. "I need to talk to her." he said quietly.

       "No can do. She ran off. And now, worse, she's in danger. She was the one that psychopath was after and now she's alone and unarmed."

       Wildwing's shoulders fell and he looked away. "We have to find her. I have to find her."

---

Mallory ran blindly.

       She didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from it all. She wanted to erase Wildwing's words from her mind, but they rang in her ears repeatedly. His fierce tone continued to berate her with every step she took. She quickened her pace.

       I have to get away, she thought. She continued to run as long as she could until her legs failed her and she collapsed. She was out of breath and inhaled and exhaled hard and rapidly.

       "This is all your fault," Wildwing's words still continue to torment her. She brought her hands to her face but stopped before she touched her skin. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and so she brought them to her lap.

       They were covered in blood.

       "Nosedive's blood," she whispered. I did this, her inner voice screamed at her. Wildwing was right, this is my fault! "Get it off me," she said frantically, her voice shaky and unstable. She rubbed the sticky crimson violently on the grass beside her, making the skin on her hands raw.

       A single tear rolled down her face as she closed her eyes and brought her head down to the ground, crying softly. Her head buried to her knees, she never even was aware of him approaching her.

       "It pains me to see you hurting." the same, husky voice responsible for Nosedive's injury said. She looked up to stare back into the threatening green eyes, but her vision soon swam around and everything was hazy as she realized he'd stabbed her with the sedative. She sunk further to the ground.

       "I'll be here when you wake up," he said with a frightening smile that was the last thing Mallory saw as she lost consciousness.

---


	5. Chapter 5

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 5

"Tanya," Wildwing called out breathless as he entered in the room. 

       "We need to find Mallory, and we need to find her now." he requested firmly. Tanya looked up from Nosedive. 

       "How is he?" Wildwing asked quietly.

       "Ahm, well, the knife didn't do any internal damage. He did lose some amount of blood though. He'll be fine, he just won't be a happy camper when he wakes up." 

       "Good." Wildwing said softly, looking back down at Nosedive. He appeared to be more peaceful now, but maybe it was just his imagination. He felt a stab of guilt again. Nosedive wasn't even in critical condition, and yet still he had blown up. He had been completely irrational and he was kicking himself for it. Some leader, he thought bitterly.

       Wildwing snapped out of his thoughts as Tanya rose from her chair. 

       "Let's try her comm," she said. Wildwing nodded. As they tried it, they soon realized that it was offline. Wildwing inwardly cursed.

       "That's bad," Duke said. Tanya gave him a look. "Wait," she said. "I'm getting something." Wildwing, Duke, and Tanya all looked up at the screen hopefully. The same dark face that had hurt Nosedive appeared. Wildwing scowled, Tanya looked worried, Grin looked unfazed, and Duke clenched his fists together. 

       "Hello," the stranger greeted. "It seems as though I have finally claimed my prize. My, and isn't she beautiful." he looked off into another direction as a suspicious smile crossed his face. "I'm sure your Mallory and I will grow to each other very well," he said.

       "Don't you touch her!" Wildwing shouted angrily, seething.

       "Oh, but I'll do so much more than that." he said as the connection closed. 

       "Tanya, trace them NOW!" Wildwing ordered.

       "Already on it," she answered, hastily pressing buttons and searching vigorously. Duke looked at Wildwing, worried. What was this guy planning for her? He wasn't quite sure he wanted to know.

       Wildwing rubbed his temples as he buried his face into his hands, stressed and overcome with uneasiness and regret. "This is all my fault." he said, his voice muffled through his hands. His mind began racing with all the different possible scenarios that could happen to Mallory. He shuddered.

       "I've got a signal!" Tanya called out triumphantly. Wildwing lifted his face out of his hands as his eyes widened. "We're on it," Duke called out. "Grin, you stay here with Nosedive." Wildwing commanded. Grin nodded.

       "I just hope we don't get there too late," Duke muttered.

       "Don't say that," Wildwing said. "We'll get there in time... we have to."

---

Mallory moaned as she finally awakened. She attempted to bring her hands to rub her aching head, but soon found out they were restrained.

       Where was she? The last thing she remembered was that menacing grin and then everything was dark. As it was now, she squinted, her eyes adjusting to the black room.

       The floor was cold and she noticed a single bed in the right corner of the room. She yanked on her restraints but found that she was without much strength. That bothered her. If there was one thing she couldn't handle, it was being put in a situation that made her appear weak.

       As she leaned against her wall in the lonely prison, her thoughts drifted to Wildwing's words as she began to remember the situation. She swallowed hard as she flashed back to Nosedive falling hard to the floor. She sighed loudly, trying as hard as she could to block the painful memories out.

       She heard a door open and swung her head around, already knowing who it was... the stranger.   

       He smiled at her. "You're finally awake," he said. "I've been waiting."

       She gave him an icy glare as she turned her head from him. 

       "Don't look away from me."

       "What do you WANT with me?" she asked, her voice coated with annoyance.

       "I want you, Mallory." he said. "You and I can do things for each other that we haven't been able to find in anybody else. We were meant to be together. It's plain to see. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you. We're both different from them, I need you, and you need me. Once you get to know me a little better you'll realize that."

       "And how to you intend to do that? Are we going to play 20 questions?" she snarled.

       "Simple." he said plainly. He leaned over her and stroked the side of her face gently. She lunged at him.

       "Still have that spunk in you, I see. I must say I'm impressed. But we can't have that getting in our way, can we?" 

       She watched helplessly as he pulled another syringe from his coat and inserted the contents into her arm. "This won't knock you out, but it will keep you peaceful enough to be reasonable."

       Mallory moaned softly as the liquids raced through her veins, taking effect on her. Her vision swam around and she felt dizzy, tired. He smiled as he watched the drugs take their toll on her. He undid the restraints, knowing she would not have enough strength to refuse him. He then placed his palms on the floor next to her and sat upon her, leaning in.

       She saw the frightening green of his eyes and tried to turn away, but he held her chin in his palm as he leaned in to kiss her. She attempted to move her legs around, a futile attempt to get him away. She turned her head as quickly as she could.

       "Get off me," she said, her voice raspy. It sounded alien to her. 

       "Why do you draw back from me?" he said angrily. "I can give you things you've always imagined."

       He placed his hands on her waist then, and she knew what he was preparing to do. Tears trickled their way down her cheeks as she listened to his greedy laugh. Mallory felt frightened then, and she knew there was nothing she could to do stop the act that was about to take place.

       And just as his hands were about to snake their way up further, the door once again burst open as Wildwing, Tanya, and Duke entered, looking heroic as ever. Wildwing was in the lead and as his eyes fell on what was about to take place, horror crossed his face. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" he bellowed. 

       The dark human turned from Mallory. "Not now!" he cried out. Wildwing leaped over the place where he was on top of Mallory and angrily tore the human off of her.  He landed in the corner, where he rose and drew a gun from his coat and aimed it at Wildwing. Wildwing drew his puck launcher, prepared to rid the world of this evil being. Before he could think twice, Wildwing aimed and fired and the human fell the floor.

       Duke made his way toward Mallory and he sat next to her, gently stroking her hand. "Mallory, are you alright?"

       "Lemme 'lone," she croaked. The substance she had been injected with her had clearly confused her senses. She recognized her hand being touched and whispered, "No.." as she continued to cry.

       Duke brought his hand from hers and stared at her, concern etched in his features. Mallory finally slipped from consciousness again as her head fell to the side. 

       Wildwing took a step back from the dying human and stared at his weapon in shock. He dropped the gun in horror and scooted against the wall, his eyes wide.

       Tanya took one look at Wildwing and then at the man on the floor and gasped as she realized what had just happened.

       "She.. will.. always.. be mine.." the dying man wheezed. He coughed a few times, and as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, they all knew he had died.

       "I killed him..." Wildwing whispered, turning his head to Duke. Duke looked into his eyes glazed with horror for his previous actions, scooped Mallory up in his arms and looked at Tanya reassuringly. 

       "Let's go," he said softly, at a loss for other words. 

---


	6. Chapter 6

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 6

The ride home was quiet.

       Tanya drove, without the slightest idea of how to confront the situation. In his moment of anger, Wildwing had killed someone else. She swallowed. That kind of thing was not going to leave his conscience easily. He wasn't going to forget about it, and it just wasn't going to disappear. He's going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. But he was forced to act the way he did, she thought. There was nothing else he could do or the situation would have been reversed, with Wildwing on the floor fighting for life. She shivered; she didn't want to imagine things like that.

       She then thought about Mallory, who was still knocked out from the previous encounter. Frightening thoughts began to arrive. What if they hadn't gotten there in time? What would have happened? She again shuddered at this. What were they going to tell Mallory when she awakened? She surely wouldn't forget what almost took place. Would she even want to open up to anyone? Surely she wouldn't want to show any of us the fear she must have been feeling. But nobody would have been brave enough to keep a straight face through something like that. Why did she want to keep everything bottled up?

       Wildwing stared out the window, his back turned to the rest of his teammates. He didn't want them to see his eyes glistening with unshed tears that threatened to spill over. His eyes were still widened with horror. What had he done? He had taken someone else's life. He was responsible for the death of someone else. Someone else who he didn't even know the name of. He swallowed. He didn't even know anything about the stranger. What if he had a family? They'd never see him again. And it was all his fault. Blood would remain permanently on his hands.

       He then stole a quick glance at Mallory, who looked anything but peaceful in her sleep. If they had been a few minutes later... the damage it would have done to her might have been irreparable. He couldn't have let that happen to her; a spirit like hers was too strong to be broken.

       He then moved next to her and began slowly stroking her cheek, staring at her closed eyes as he finally let his tears fall, secretly and quietly.

---

Nosedive finally awoke to discover that his side hurt like hell.

       "Owww..." he moaned.

       He rubbed it gingerly, wincing at the pain it produced. He blinked his eyes a few times and yawned as he took in his surroundings. The Infirmary, he discovered. He glanced to his side and noticed Grin, meditating. Deeply immovable.

       Nosedive grew bored of watching him, cross-legged on the floor so he decided to interrupt his peace. "Yo, Grinster." he said, but no movement erupted from the giant duck.

       After this happened, Nosedive grew frustrated. He picked up a book from his bedside and tossed it on the floor, allowing a loud banging noise to make Grin snap out of his reverie.

       "You have awakened," he observed.

       "Yeah... now where is everybody?" Nosedive asked curiously.

       "They have gone on a mission to rescue Mallory."

       "Rescue her? What happened? Did that freak job get her?"

       "It seems as though she has been captured by the stranger that caused the chaos we endured earlier."

       "What happened to the bomb?"

       "It was a fluke." During mid-sentence, the calvary walked in, Wildwing absent from it. Duke still held Mallory in his arms, and he placed her in a bed next to Nosedive. "You're awake," he said softly to Nosedive. 

       "How do you feel?" Tanya asked from the back of the room. Nosedive ignored her question.

       "What happened to girly-girl? Is she hurt?"

       "She's just pumped full of something right now, knocked out. Physically, yeah, she's okay... but mentally, we're not so sure." 

       Nosedive's face was etched with concern. He then noticed the absence of Wildwing. "Where's Wing? Where's my brother? Is he okay?" Nosedive asked, panicking. Had something happened to him?

       Duke sighed, knowing that he was going to have to confront the situation and let Nosedive in on what had happened. But how was he going to break it to the kid? This was surely going to hurt him. He looked over at Tanya for help.

       "He's fine. He went straight to his room. He just needs to be alone right now." she said.

       "Why? What's wrong? What's going on?" Nosedive burst out with, naivete extremely evident. 

       Tanya sighed as she took Nosedive's bedside. She began to go into the past events for Nosedive as Duke stood on, not sure if he wanted to replay them in his mind and Grin listened intently, still sitting on the floor.

       It was going to be a long night.

---

As the summary of what had happened earlier was presented for Nosedive, he stared into space for a while, not quite sure how to take it all in.

       "He killed him," he finally said quietly, repeating Tanya's last words. Before she could open her mouth, however, he came to a desperate realization. "My brother's a murderer." 

       "There was nothing more--" Duke broke in, but Nosedive interrupted him. "It doesn't justify what he did. Nothing does." he said in a monotone. Nosedive looked away from all of them then, staring at the wall with a blank expression on his face. It was quite a load for him to take on, and he wasn't sure he wanted to face it just yet.

       "My brother, the hero." he said out loud, his tone bitter.

       With nothing more to say, Tanya looked to Grin and Duke and signaled them to leave the room as they left Nosedive alone, with the exception of the still unconscious Mallory, to sort out his thoughts.

---


	7. Chapter 7

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:            The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. I own the stranger (who never really has a specified name.)

AUTHOR NOTE:        This is my first story. Yay.

CHAPTER 7

Wildwing lay on his bed, facing the wall.

       His thoughts were racing faster than he could control and he placed his hands to his head, trying to slow the frantic process occurring inside. He had killed someone else. He was responsible for their demise. It was on his hands. It would always be on his hands. There was no way he could rid himself of it now.

       He swallowed and clenched his fists together as what he had done replayed in his mind repeatedly. He imagined the warmth of his hand as it pressed the trigger, the loud sound it had produced, and the shot that knocked the human to the ground with a fatal blow.

       He heard the wheezing and gasping sounds he had let out, saw the way Tanya and Duke stared at him in horror, and the desperate look in those frightening green eyes before they shut for all eternity. 

       He swallowed. Hard. How would Nosedive react? Brothers don't go around setting examples for their younger siblings by killing people. Certainly Nosedive would be disappointed in him. He sighed loudly as he imagined his younger brother shunning him, permanently. 

       He then wondered how Mallory would react when she woke up. He was strangely overly concerned with her disapproval or approval.

       "What have I done?" Wildwing whispered out loud, letting a choked sob out, releasing the anguish he had been bottling inside.

       He then heard a loud knock at the door, interrupting his thought session. He leaned further back into his bed, hands laid neatly across his chest. He ignored the knocking.

       "Wing," Duke said from the other side. "Let me in." While Wildwing continued to ignore his pleas to enter the room, Duke became more persistent. "Wing, you have to let me in. You can't just ignore this. You've got to talk to somebody."

       Wildwing reluctantly realized this was probably true, so he cleared his throat to prevent his voice from sounding unsteady and mumbled a "Come in."

       Duke then entered and leaned against the door frame. Wildwing looked away from him. They both sat in silence for a long time. "Wing," Duke finally said. "When I said let me in, I didn't just mean through the door. You've got to get this off your chest."

       "I killed him," Wildwing answered. "There's nothing more to it than that. I'm responsible for his murder."

       "Wing, there were no other options."

       "There is always another option."

       "What were you supposed to do? You made the wisest choice. If you hadn't done what you did, he would have shot you. You would have been on the floor, dying. What would have happened after that? What if Tanya and me couldn't react fast enough? Not only did you save Mallory, you saved us too."

       "But, it.. it doesn't matter! He's dead and it's my fault. What do I do now? Nosedive will hate me..."

       "Dive could never hate you, Wing. He's your brother. Give him some credit." Wildwing sighed.

       "You don't understand." 

       "How do you know that?" Duke snapped. "You think you're the only person who's ever done something that you're ashamed of? At least you did it in protection of someone else. You think my hands are clean? You're forgetting my background, Wildwing."

       Wildwing gaped at this, and then closed his mouth tightly. "I'm sorry," he finally said. Duke nodded and looked away, unable to meet his leader's eyes at the newly revealed information.

       "You need to talk to Nosedive," he said, placing his palms together. "And Mallory for that matter."

       "I don't even know how I'm going to begin to break it to Nosedive. And Mallory..." he paused for a long time, and then Duke finally broke in.

       "Dive knows." Wildwing sighed at this, looked down and fiddled with his fingers for a few minutes before he answered.

       "What did he say?"

       "You're gonna have to talk to him yourself."

       "That can't be good."

       "You never answered me about Mallory."

       "I... I'm afraid of what she'll think of me..."

       "You care for her, don't you?"

       "I... um... no, it's nothing like that!" Wildwing said hastily. He could feel his palms beginning to sweat.

       "Wing?"

       "Yeah?"

       "Shutup."

       "What?!"

       "If there's one thing I know what I'm talking about with, it's love. It's not that easy to figure out you've got feelings for her."

       "But what would she say?"

       "Find out for yourself." and with that, Duke rose from the chair and left the room, leaving Wildwing to stare at the closed door.

---

Mallory snapped her eyes open and was immediately afraid.      

       She sat quickly up in bed and clenched the covers in her fists, bringing them up to her neck. She searched the room frantically for any sign of movement, any sign of him. 

       She then recognized the Infirmary walls and sighed loudly. What had happened after she lost consciousness? Did he... she swallowed.

       "Relax," Nosedive suddenly said, upon realizing her panic. "It's just you and me."

       "Nosedive," she cried out in recognition. "You're okay."

       "Yeah, fine... but what about you?"

       "I'm fine." she snapped, suddenly.

       "Whoa whoa whoa, no need to attack me girly-girl. Everybody's worried about you, you know."

       "Dive, what happened?"

       "Well... Duke, Tanya, and Wildwing," he said, pausing after he said his brother's name. He swallowed back the pain and continued, "came to your rescue. They pried that sicko off of you. Duke tried to talk to you, but you were crying and confused... then you lost consciousness."

       She winced at the part about her crying. Everyone was going to start babying her now, and she didn't want nor need that. "Wait," she suddenly said. "What happened to him?"

       "Well, Wildwing fought him while Duke and Tanya were helping you..."

       "And where is he now?"

       "Well... he..."

       "Wildwing killed him," she concluded, her eyes widening. She waited for Nosedive to confirm it, and when he nodded, she turned her face quickly. She rubbed her head and closed her eyes. Wildwing had actually killed somebody. She just couldn't picture it happening, couldn't process it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to, either. She felt tears coming as she remembered why Wildwing had done it, so she pushed it behind her for now. She didn't need to show any more weakness.       

       "Dive?" she said softly.

       "Yeah?" he said, his voice cold. Mallory realized how Nosedive must have reacted when he heard the news.

       "I'm sorry." she said softly.

       "For what?" 

       "For everything. If I hadn't fought him, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. If I hadn't run off, Wildwing wouldn't have been forced to... to act the way he did." she said, not sure she wanted the fact Wildwing had committed murder to sink in any further.

       "This isn't your fault, Mallory." 

       "I'm sorry..." she repeated. She then rolled to her side and hugged the covers, trying to make them her source of protection. She closed her eyes and tried to fight off the tears she was fighting, but failed. She had lost again.

---


	8. Chapter 8

TITLE: Hazy Reality

AUTHOR:       sparklingstar

DISCLAIMER:           The Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. The stranger (never really has a specified name) belongs to me.

AUTHOR NOTE: Wow! It's been a while since I've last updated this. I'm really sorry, school was ending and I had to get prepared for finals and things like that. But I'm still alive! Now that summer's here, I should have more time to write. Thanks for all the generous reviews, and the not-so-generous, eh, you have your opinions. Now, on to the story! 

CHAPTER 8

Dawn cautiously approached the Pond as an unpredictable day set forth.

       Pinks and oranges filled the sky as the sun's first rays tangled subtly with the land. Duke sat in the kitchen, a cup of steaming coffee in hand, staring outside into the new day. He cocked his head slightly, thinking of the lack of sleep he had recieved from all that had happened the previous night. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, where dark circles lay underneath.

       Duke placed the cup of coffee onto the table, noticing the brown ring that had developed around it. He dipped his finger into it, smearing the circlular shape. He suddenly realized his presense was not the only in the room, and turned around to meet Tanya's gaze.

       "Hey," she said softly.

       "Hey," he repeated.

       "Mind if I sit next to you?" she asked, her eyes on the chair that sat empty and lonely at the table.

       "Go ahead," he said, gesturing his hand toward the seat. "Couldn't sleep?"

       "No," Tanya said, ready to spill all of her emotions. "I'm so worried about everything. Mallory didn't speak to anybody all night, Nosedive's just been staring into space, obviously preoccupied, and Wildwing hasn't come out of his room. What are we supposed to do, Duke? Nobody's listening to anything I'm saying. It's like it just goes straight past them, they don't care... and I hate the fact that I can't make everything better this time!" she said in one breath as she slammed her fist on to the table. She looked surprised at her actions, and drew back, looking up at Duke.

       "Slow down Tawny, take a breather. It's not your job to make everything better. The only thing we can do now is be there when they finally decide to talk to somebody, all three of 'em, stubborn as they are. Wildwing's starting to come around, I think. We've just got to give it time."

       "It's hard," Tanya admitted.

       "I know it's hard... but they've got to get through the first stages themselves, because we can't do anything to change what's going on in their minds."

       "You're right," she said slowly. "I just wish I could do something."

       "Me too, Tanya, me too."

---

Wildwing stood in the doorway of the Infirmary, heart beating fast in his chest.

       He had come out of his room in the morning, prepared to talk to Nosedive. As he had set foot out of the secluded space he had been in for hours on end, he felt eerie. Everything around him was silent, and even the air gave him the creepy feeling that things were changed permanently. It was discouraging.

       With Duke's motivation, however, he inched away from his safe haven, ready for the confrontation. As he stood, leaning against the door that he had once passed through carrying his helpless brother, he felt trapped. There was no turning back now. He stared upon his brother, who was looking defiantly into space.

       Nosedive gave a quick glance to his sibling, but then turned away as fast as he could, crossing his arms over his chest.

       "Hi Nosedive," Wildwing greeted softly.

       "Hi." Nosedive said, his tone distant and cold. He still kept his face turned from Wildwing.

       "How are you feeling?" At this, Nosedive stared at him, raising an eyebrow with a look that stated, "How do you THINK I'm feeling?"

       "So you're mad at me," Wildwing concluded, looking down at his feet.

       "It's not that I'm mad," he confessed. "I don't know what I'm feeling."

       "Well, can you give me some type of idea?"

       "I just feel like I don't know you like I used to. You seem like a different person now... because the Wildwing I know," Nosedive swallowed, "I can't picture him doing something like that."

       "Dive, I'm still your brother. I'm still the same person, I promise!" Nosedive raised his head at this, his eyes bright with tears he was too stubborn to shed. 

       "Then why does everything feel so different now?" he whispered.

---


End file.
